Atheist Hero Might Be Changing His Mind...

[servant]

Richard Dawkins Calls Himself A "Cultural Christian"

Posted Dec 31st 2007 2:07PM by Dinesh D'Souza
Filed under: Christianity, History, Controversy, Atheism

Asked by a British member of Parliament if he is one of those atheists who wants to get rid of Christian symbols especially during the Christmas season, atheist Richard Dawkins replied that he is not. Dawkins said that he himself sings Christmas carols and that he considers himself a "cultural Christian." Just as many Jews regard themselves as Jewish, defend Jewish interests and cherish Jewish culture while not participating in Jewish religious rituals, Dawkins says that he respects the fact that the history and traditions of the West are shaped by Christianity. Dawkins says he's not one of those who wants to purge the West of its Christian traditions. The main threat to Christian symbols, Dawkins argues, does not come from atheists like him but rather from Muslims and members of other faiths.

Now this is quite remarkable. In The God Delusion, Dawkins portrayed the Christian God as a wicked, avaricious, capricious, genocidal maniac. Dawkins even blasted Jesus for such offenses as speaking harshly to his mother. Yet if the Jewish and Christian God was such a monster, what sense does it make for Dawkins to embrace the cultural influence of that deity? It would be like someone saying, "Hitler was a murderous maniac, but I am a cultural Nazi. No, I don't embrace the specifics of Nazi doctrine, but I appreciate what fascism has done to shape German culture. Let's give up the specifics of the Hitler program, but let's also keep Nazi culture along with the fuhrer's imagery on our coins and monuments."

Dawkins is not an unintelligent man, so what's going on here? One possibility is that Dawkins now recognizes that today's atheists who want to get rid of Christian symbols are just as intolerant as Christians who in the pst sought to deny atheists a voice in the public arena. So Dawkins' statement can be read as a critique of intolerance and political correctness.

A second possibility is that Dawkins now sees the Muslim threat to the West--and especially European culture--as more serious than the prospect of a second Christian Inquisition, so he has decided to ally with the Christians against the Islamic radicals. Other atheists like Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens are now admitting that atheist attempts to equate Islamic extremism with Christianity are bogus. The real threat doesn't come from Presbyterianism or Anglicanism but from a radical Islam that wants to obliterate Western civilization.

I suspect that these two factors may have played a role, but the main reason for Dawkins' remarkable self-identification as a cultural Christian is that he has slowly come to realize that even the values that he cherishes--values such as individual dignity, science as an autonomous enterprise, the equal dignity of women, the abolition of slavery, and compassion as a social virtue--came into the West because of Christianity. I have been hammering this point in my debates with leading atheists, and it's possible that one of the Oxford historians came up to Dawkins and said, to his horror, "You know, Richard, that D'Souza chap has a point."

Okay, so let's give this biologist credit for learning a little history. Still, the deeper question remains. If the God of the Old and New Testaments is such a bad character, how come his cultural influence is so positive? Absent a good answer to this question, we must reconsider the premise: perhaps the God of the Old and New Testaments is not the evil figure portrayed in atheist propaganda. On the contrary, perhaps all our Western notions of good and bad derive from no source other than this Christian God. This certainly was Nietzsche's view, and he knew a lot more about the subject than Richard Dawkins. Wouldn't it be interesting if Dawkins continues his intellectual growth and reverses his old misunderstandings? Then he can reissue his book: Overcoming My Delusions: Confessions of a Cultural Christian.

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[servant]

Alan Dershowitz does not seem to be any kind of real theist advocate based on the limited information I have seen about him. Dawkins however, is one of the leading atheist trying to destroy religion and Christianity. I just thought it was a funny comment and good article.

[Rathpig]

What we have here is an ideological dichotomy that demonstrates the vast differences in intellectual objectivity between two specific individuals.

Richard Dawkins is an well known and outspoken atheist, yet he has no problem being honest about the influence of Christianity and his relation to Christianity in a cultural context.

Dinesh D'Souza is a Christian and Christian Apologist, yet he had to present Dawkins statement in a dishonest fashion to support his contrived thesis. By the very tenets of the religion he professes he is a liar through distortion. (Not that this isn't the normal modus of D'Souza.)


The lesson we should learn here is that the atheist and critic of theism is actually a better practicing Christian than the Christian Apologist.

Dawkins was being honest. Imagine the horror if D'Souza was to practice a similar culture. Dawkins makes his living based on an honest presentation of evidence. D'Souza makes his living through tabloid distortions and demagogic jingoism. Is there really any comparison of the men?

[QED]

Now this is quite remarkable. In The God Delusion, Dawkins portrayed the Christian God as a wicked, avaricious, capricious, genocidal maniac.

Isn't that the way the OT portrays God?

Dawkins even blasted Jesus for such offenses as speaking harshly to his mother. Yet if the Jewish and Christian God was such a monster, what sense does it make for Dawkins to embrace the cultural influence of that deity?

D'Souza does a really poor job of "acting surprised" here. Look at the popularity of Haloween, Children's fairy-tales etc. There's no shortage of interest in the darker side of things in our joint culture.

I also like to eat fish on a Friday, and take it easy on a Sunday. These are handy ready-made way-points to remind me to eat a varied diet and not work myself to death -- nothing to do with me being Catholic or whatnot.

[Rathpig]

D'Souza may also be interested in just how far he himself is "culturally" a pagan since much of our culture, and ironically Christianity, is heavily influenced by non-Abrahamic religious traditions.